The Cornflower Witch Chapter 272

A mysterious valley, bustling with people preparing various things.

Most of the inhabitants here belong to the Hundred-Eyed Cult. They are ecstatic, for this is an unprecedented grand ceremony. Centuries of treasured resources of the Hundred-Eyed Cult have been brought out, occupying the entire valley. A giant magic array with a diameter of about five kilometers is being adjusted, and people in dark red robes are constantly making adjustments, preparing for tonight’s ceremony.

Outside the valley, the Anti army has also gathered. Their banners flutter fiercely, and even before their arrival, the overwhelming momentum has permeated the entire wilderness.

The ‘castle’ Aspect, the cornerstone of order, is also an exclusive ‘Aspect’ of many national armies. Numerous soldiers with the ‘castle’ Aspect unite together, like bricks forming a castle, constructing magnificent curtains and mobile walls that suppress the power of other Aspects.

The horn slowly blows, and the Anti soldiers, arranged in formations, advance steadily. They are like rolling boulders, slow but unstoppable.

Inside the valley, high-ranking cultists chastise their subordinates.

“How are the instigated developments in those towns progressing? Why does Katchis still ignore them, and even refuse to dispatch troops to assist?”

“My lord, we have incited rebellions in 26 towns, some even achieving victory. But that Anti general directly refused to see the messengers reporting intelligence and forced the army to attack.”

“Does he not want so many Regas cities and territories? What a madman!” He cursed, gritting his teeth.

“How are those towns doing now? If they succeed, have them send people to support us immediately.”

“My lord, even if those cities successfully launch independent rebellions, they have suffered heavy casualties. It will be difficult for them to spare any more forces…”

“These are not your concerns. You just need to know that if there are no reinforcements, we will all die here tonight.”

“Go, go interfere with them, obstruct them, delay their attack.”

“Yes.”

On a hidden slope on one side of the valley, a group of Hundred-Eyed cultists quietly emerged. They were about to set off but hadn’t gone far when screams erupted from the forest.

A cultist clutched his neck and slowly fell, dark red blood oozing from his fingertips.

Immediately after, more cultists were killed in the forest. Some died without realizing it, while others, though they discovered the attack, still couldn’t evade it.

Ten seconds later, this team, sent to interfere and harass, was annihilated by an invisible blade.

Afterward, figures in black short cloaks appeared in the blurry light and shadows. They were masked and carried non-reflective short blades, continuing forward, following the hidden passage the cultists had emerged from, heading deeper into the valley.

The Anti army pushed forward slowly, the trees along the way filled with dark red banners. Traps set by the Hundred-Eyed Cult were torn down and cleared.

On the hillside, eleven Vision-Clouding Evil Eyes activated their abilities. An invisible force field diffused, and the soldiers at the foot of the valley immediately found their vision dim, unable to see anything beyond ten meters, even their own hands became blurry.

This visual suppression caused panic among many soldiers, and the advancing formations became chaotic.

Utilizing the time of visual suppression, several deep purple rays pierced through the atmosphere, directly aiming at the large camp behind the army formation, where Katchis’s flag was located, along with high-ranking officers observing from horseback.

After the light dissipated, about 5 officers dissolved and died in the rays, while the remaining officers hastily deployed their curtains, merging with the army formation.

Layer upon layer of white curtains expanded and appeared, isolating the core of the army formation. To attack the figures within, one would likely need to penetrate seven wall-like ash-white curtains. With such layered weakening, the deep purple rays would be unable to penetrate even a thin sheet of paper.

Unable to impede the army’s advance, the cultists in the valley were mobilized. They picked up crossbows and swords to attack the approaching Anti soldiers at the foot of the mountain.

However, these actions appeared extremely weak in the face of the strict army formation, unable to shake the iron-wall-like army at all.

The Hundred-Eyed Cult’s front was compressed step by step, leaving behind bodies of dark-robed cultists along the way.

Behind them, Katchis watched everything from horseback through a telescope.

“Indeed, the methods of you cultists are truly unpredictable. Inciting chaos and ambushing us have caused us great trouble.”

“But so what? In front of an unrivaled army, everything is merely the struggle of insects.” After saying this, he felt a long-lost sense of exhilaration.

During this time, he had been repeatedly questioned and held accountable by the Anti Kingdom for his failure to suppress Prince Jabbers. If he couldn’t solve this problem within three months, the Anti Kingdom would send someone else to replace him.

Fortunately, his spies had finally discovered the whereabouts of these rats. Now, with the mobilized army, these annoying fellows would be gradually flattened. Everything was so wonderful.

“My lord, a messenger from Split-Axe City has arrived.” A messenger hurried to his side.

“What is it?” Katchis frowned.

“He said Split-Axe City is in urgent need of assistance. A rebellion has also broken out there, and the streets are filled with armed Regas personnel.”

“I left nearly 1,000 men in Split-Axe City. Can’t they even handle this small problem?” Hearing this news, Katchis felt as if he had swallowed a fly.

He, of course, knew what these cultists were up to—constantly instigating rebellions and disturbances to divide his forces, preventing him from concentrating power against them. If he followed their rhythm and sent soldiers to rescue them one by one, he would be like someone rushing around putting out fires, never having a moment’s rest.

Moreover, His Majesty had already lost patience with him. At this point, even if he were to send troops back to save Split-Axe City, what good would it do?

“Tell them to find a way to solve it themselves and hold on for three days. I will personally lead the army back to clean up those insects,” Katchis ordered.

“Yes.” Knowing the general’s determination, the messenger had no choice but to relay the message to the envoy from Split-Axe City.

Inside the valley, Jabbers watched the giant magic array, where countless people were bustling about. Beside him were his remaining loyal guards. “The army is at our gates, and the defenses could be breached at any moment. Are you sure tonight’s ritual can change the situation?” he asked the Hundred-Eyed cultist beside him.

At this point, Prince Jabbers was beginning to doubt the effectiveness of the ritual. If it were truly that powerful, why wouldn’t other nations on the continent adopt it, and instead continue to train and cultivate armies?

“Your Royal Highness, please believe us. We are risking everything and everyone’s lives right now. We wouldn’t joke about something like this,” the cultist said, temporarily dispelling Prince Jabbers’ doubts.

After a cold snort, Prince Jabbers left with his men, heading to a higher point in the valley to continue observing the battle.

Dusk gradually fell. Due to the lack of light, the forest at the foot of the valley grew dim, and the complex environment slowed the Anti army’s advance. In this situation, the Hundred-Eyed Cult sighed in relief, thinking they could delay until tomorrow.

However, Katchis had anticipated this. Under his command, numerous supplies were transported to the front lines of the army. Torches were lit in the darkness, their burning flames like countless stars illuminating the valley.

Not only that, but to disrupt the magic array and rituals within the valley, volleys of flaming arrows were launched, landing in the valley and spreading flames. Many cultists cried out as they were incinerated in the sea of fire.

The situation, at this moment, was extremely dire. Prince Jabbers’ face turned cold as he looked at the flames below. He turned and ordered a knight beside him to find Princess Masha.

“Prepare to take me and my sister away. We cannot stay here.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Within the chaotic valley, the cult leader, accompanied by a group of black-robed figures, advanced quickly. They stepped directly into the sea of fire, and an invisible current of air diffused, extinguishing the surrounding flames.

At this moment, thin beams of light shot out from the rock walls around the valley, piercing through the boxes placed within the magic array below, revealing the items stored inside.

Among them were finely calibrated scales, an hourglass marking time cycles, and silver granules representing weight increments.

There were also amber-encased moths, glass-sealed flowers and plants, and fossils of ancient fish.

There was coagulated crimson blood, teeth of ancient behemoths, and incomplete, precious dragon scales.

There were golden burning embers, ice frozen for a thousand years, and the powdered remains of the Sixth Epoch.

There was silvery tranquil lake water, a demonic black water lily, and the flickering membranes of exotic beasts like phantoms.

Thereafter, the Evil Eyes on the mountain walls converged their rays at the center of the magic array. A peculiar meteorite was struck by numerous deep purple rays and slowly floated up.

It gradually transformed from opaque black to transparent, filled with flowing energy, until it finally fully bloomed, and brilliant light spread across the plaza.

A strange and otherworldly aura swept through the valley. As it touched the army formation outside the valley, the layered ash-white curtains deformed and melted, as if being dissolved.

Deprived of the curtain’s protection, the Hundred-Eyed Cult’s Evil Eyes locked onto the high-ranking officers in the center of the army formation. Beams of deep purple light pierced through the night, melting them. This plunged the advancing army into chaos, and many fires were also ignited, spreading in the forest.

Behind them, Katchis watched this scene, his face contorted. His eyes darted around, and finally, he pulled out a special black hound statue from his懷中.

“Forefathers above, I shall uphold the glory of my family with this.” After he finished speaking, he threw the statue amidst the astonished gazes of those around him.

The black statue emanated a black radiance in the air, then landed and transformed into invisible black flames, spreading across the ground.

“Since you no longer have the protection of the ‘castle,’ I shall let you know the prestige and glory of my Hellhound family.”

He drew a dagger and cut his wrist, a large amount of blood flowed out and fell into the black flames below. The flames instantly came alive, forming the blurry outline of a hound.

“It’s not just you who wield rituals; I also possess the ritual secrets passed down through generations of my family,” Katchis said through gritted teeth.

Then, he had the corpses from the battlefield dragged over and thrown into the fire.

The black flames, as if nourished, immediately soared.

[Banqueting Ritual · Infernal Black Hounds] (Nightmare · Dead Embers · Blood Law)

‘At the end of the Seventh Epoch, prolonged wars with alien worlds left the land littered with corpses and maggots. Numerous living beings had no place to be buried, and exposed skeletal remains were horrifying. To revitalize the earth and appease the living beings of the world, the monarch wielding ‘Dead Embers’, at the behest of the Stardust Lords, summoned black hounds from the sea of fire. They radiated scorching, sulfurous flames, racing across the land, devouring the flesh and bones on the earth, preparing the world for its rebirth.’

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Conditions: This ritual requires a large number of corpses (Dead Embers) to create the conditions for the birth of infernal black hounds, the aura of despair and fear (Nightmare) to shape the hounds, and a bloodline (Blood Law) with an ancient pact with the infernal black hounds to serve as a catalyst.

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Summary: After this ritual is successfully activated, infernal black hounds will emerge from the flames. Their strength depends on the bodies devoured by the flames and the pervading negative emotions. Once these black hounds appear, they will continuously devour any corpses they see and transform them into new infernal black hounds until the scorching flames within them burn out. Furthermore, if the owner of the blood serving as a catalyst in the ritual knows the history of the ‘Funeral Feast’ of the Seventh Epoch, the more the arranged environment resembles that time, the stronger the ritual’s effect will be, and they can guide these hounds with their will to take action.

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Effect: Summons infernal black hounds from the black dead ember flames. They will burn and devour the bones they see and eliminate traces of ‘alien’ remnants. (Strong resistance to ‘alien’ entities; the hounds’ flames counter other ‘dead ember’ creatures.)

The flames made strange hissing noises and twisted their shapes, eventually, a fierce black hound leaped out. It was about two meters tall, with a slender body and a narrow head, its appearance sent shivers down one’s spine.

When these fire-emitting black hounds emerged, their bloodshot eyes darted around, then they rushed to the battlefield, gnawing on the corpses. The soldiers were terrified by these hounds, scattering to avoid them. Some were even engulfed by the hounds’ flames, their bodies burning, crying out as they ran on the ground.

As the initiator of the ritual, Katchis had some influence over these black hounds, but he couldn’t control them precisely. After all, his bloodline was thin, and it was now the Ninth Epoch, too far removed from the legends of the Seventh Epoch.

Over ten infernal black hounds ran across the land. Their strength was “Tier 2 – Dead Embers,” but this was just the beginning.

Numerous corpses became food and nourishment for the black hounds. They descended upon the battlefield as if commencing a grand feast. Whether it was the bodies of cultists, Anti soldiers, or even those still not fully deceased figures ignited by their flames, all became their sustenance.

In just a few minutes, the ten infernal black hounds multiplied to fifty, and this number continued to climb.

Under Katchis’s full urging, these black hounds surged into the valley, deftly leaping over obstacles and rocks. Even if struck by the Evil Eyes’ rays, they wouldn’t die immediately, only becoming weaker.

Many members of the Hundred-Eyed Cult were tackled by these black hounds, enveloped and melted by flames amidst cries and wails. An aura of despair and terror permeated the air, then transforming into new infernal black hounds.

The Evil Eyes on the mountain walls continuously fired, but still could not stop the spread of these infernal black hounds. Their number had grown from the initial ten to nearly a hundred.

Terrifying howls echoed through the valley. Wherever they went, scorching flames spread, everything was destined to perish in the sea of fire, and everything would become a feast for the hounds.